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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...,7301363.story Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations Amid money worries, those who normally take the entire month off are finding it a cruel summer By Angela Doland | Associated Press 10:44 PM CDT, August 23, 2008 "PARIS - It's the Paris version of the "staycation": Marc des Bouillons lounged in a beach chair with a book, surrounded by women in bikinis, ice cream stands, a DJ spinning summer tunes and kids running amok. Sounds like vacation, but it was just an evening after work at a makeshift beach on the banks of the Seine-a pale substitute for a real beach holiday, the best many Parisians can do in these troubled economic times. The European summer vacation just isn't what it used to be. With economies stagnating and inflation in the euro zone about 4 percent, people are cutting the length of their holiday stay, vacationing close by and, in some cases, just staying home. Des Bouillons, a 43-year-old accountant, is forgoing one of France's sacrosanct rituals: The great August lull in which the country shuts down for the entire month, turning cities into ghost towns as the masses hit the beaches or country retreats. He intends to work through August so he can go away off-season once prices drop. "I have to be careful about my budget," des Bouillons said. Across the continent, Europeans are sharing des Bouillons' pain. The deepening economic malaise has made many wary of splurging on expensive breaks. And would-be travelers have been hit by soaring costs in Europe for food, road trips and air travel - in short, just about everything needed for a successful holiday. Gasoline, for example, is the equivalent of $8 a gallon in France, and the fuel surcharge on a round-trip long-haul Air France flight is as much as $418. In Italy, even gelato, the typical holiday treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since he had to raise prices by $1.50 a cone because of soaring milk and fruit costs. In Spain, another country that traditionally shuts down in August, travel agency Marsans has been luring customers by giving away flat-screen TVs with travel packages costing more than $2,320. Some European leaders have shown restraint so as not to shock their countrymen with scenes of living it up during the economic downturn. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown opted for a quiet holiday in the countryside. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, nicknamed the "bling-bling president" for his penchant for borrowing private jets and yachts, took an ordinary airline flight to his wife Carla's Mediterranean villa. France's main hospitality and catering union said in a report last week that hotel occupancy is holding steady. But it said there was a 20 to 30 percent drop in customers at cafes and restaurants. Surveys indicated that more people were skipping vacations altogether. "We have found that more customers than ever before want to jump in a car with the family and avoid the hassle and increased costs of an overseas break," said Richard Carrick, chief executive of Hoseasons, a British travel company. Germany seems to be an exception, with the tourism industry remaining stable, although experts are keeping an eye on the international economy. German plane travel, tour operations and hotel reservations continued in an upward trend in the early summer months, according to industry reports. Some European travelers have taken advantage of the weak dollar and headed to the United States. In the Netherlands as of early July, trips within Europe and Asia were slightly down, but bookings to the United States were up 49 percent from a year ago, said AVNR, a travel agencies industry group..". / |
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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations
Martin wrote: On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:10:00 -0500, "Gregory Morrow" wrote: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...mmer_08aug24,0, 7301363.story Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations Amid money worries, those who normally take the entire month off are finding it a cruel summer By Angela Doland | Associated Press 10:44 PM CDT, August 23, 2008 "PARIS - It's the Paris version of the "staycation": Marc des Bouillons lounged in a beach chair with a book, surrounded by women in bikinis, ice cream stands, a DJ spinning summer tunes and kids running amok. Magda's idea of paradise. Lol...especially the "kids running amok" bit. -- Best Greg |
#3
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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations
In article , Gregory
Morrow says... In Italy, even gelato, the typical holiday treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since he had to raise prices by $1.50 a cone because of soaring milk and fruit costs. In France, prices for ice cream are just ridicolous - two to three Euro for a cone with one scoop of ice cream. -- Alfred Molon http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe |
#4
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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations
Alfred Molon:
In article , Gregory Morrow says... In Italy, even gelato, the typical holiday treat, is taking a hit. In France, prices for ice cream are just ridicolous - two to three Euro for a cone with one scoop of ice cream. Great to see that tourists generally haven't discovered Lower Saxony as a vacation location. Terrific ice cream in Nordhorn for 50-60 cents a Scoop. Yup, capital 'S'. Please, stay away and don't increase demand. -- Erick "Some see the glass as half-empty, some see the glass as half-full. I see the glass as too big" - George Carlin |
#5
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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations
"Alfred Molon" wrote in message ... In article , Gregory Morrow says... In Italy, even gelato, the typical holiday treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since he had to raise prices by $1.50 a cone because of soaring milk and fruit costs. In France, prices for ice cream are just ridicolous - two to three Euro for a cone with one scoop of ice cream. This is the normal price in the UK, and IME in airports all around the world. Yet there are still a queue of people buying. tim |
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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations, while americans still have almost no vacations at all !!
Poor morrow, condemned to live between his computer shack and the local
sexshop... "Gregory Morrow" a écrit dans le message de m... http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...,7301363.story Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations Amid money worries, those who normally take the entire month off are finding it a cruel summer By Angela Doland | Associated Press 10:44 PM CDT, August 23, 2008 "PARIS - It's the Paris version of the "staycation": Marc des Bouillons lounged in a beach chair with a book, surrounded by women in bikinis, ice cream stands, a DJ spinning summer tunes and kids running amok. Sounds like vacation, but it was just an evening after work at a makeshift beach on the banks of the Seine-a pale substitute for a real beach holiday, the best many Parisians can do in these troubled economic times. The European summer vacation just isn't what it used to be. With economies stagnating and inflation in the euro zone about 4 percent, people are cutting the length of their holiday stay, vacationing close by and, in some cases, just staying home. Des Bouillons, a 43-year-old accountant, is forgoing one of France's sacrosanct rituals: The great August lull in which the country shuts down for the entire month, turning cities into ghost towns as the masses hit the beaches or country retreats. He intends to work through August so he can go away off-season once prices drop. "I have to be careful about my budget," des Bouillons said. Across the continent, Europeans are sharing des Bouillons' pain. The deepening economic malaise has made many wary of splurging on expensive breaks. And would-be travelers have been hit by soaring costs in Europe for food, road trips and air travel - in short, just about everything needed for a successful holiday. Gasoline, for example, is the equivalent of $8 a gallon in France, and the fuel surcharge on a round-trip long-haul Air France flight is as much as $418. In Italy, even gelato, the typical holiday treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since he had to raise prices by $1.50 a cone because of soaring milk and fruit costs. In Spain, another country that traditionally shuts down in August, travel agency Marsans has been luring customers by giving away flat-screen TVs with travel packages costing more than $2,320. Some European leaders have shown restraint so as not to shock their countrymen with scenes of living it up during the economic downturn. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown opted for a quiet holiday in the countryside. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, nicknamed the "bling-bling president" for his penchant for borrowing private jets and yachts, took an ordinary airline flight to his wife Carla's Mediterranean villa. France's main hospitality and catering union said in a report last week that hotel occupancy is holding steady. But it said there was a 20 to 30 percent drop in customers at cafes and restaurants. Surveys indicated that more people were skipping vacations altogether. "We have found that more customers than ever before want to jump in a car with the family and avoid the hassle and increased costs of an overseas break," said Richard Carrick, chief executive of Hoseasons, a British travel company. Germany seems to be an exception, with the tourism industry remaining stable, although experts are keeping an eye on the international economy. German plane travel, tour operations and hotel reservations continued in an upward trend in the early summer months, according to industry reports. Some European travelers have taken advantage of the weak dollar and headed to the United States. In the Netherlands as of early July, trips within Europe and Asia were slightly down, but bookings to the United States were up 49 percent from a year ago, said AVNR, a travel agencies industry group..". / |
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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations
morrow doesn't know, he doesn't travel.
"tim....." a écrit dans le message de ... "Alfred Molon" wrote in message ... In article , Gregory Morrow says... In Italy, even gelato, the typical holiday treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since he had to raise prices by $1.50 a cone because of soaring milk and fruit costs. In France, prices for ice cream are just ridicolous - two to three Euro for a cone with one scoop of ice cream. This is the normal price in the UK, and IME in airports all around the world. Yet there are still a queue of people buying. tim |
#8
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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations
On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 09:45:29 +0100, tim..... wrote
(in article ): "Alfred Molon" wrote in message ... In article , Gregory Morrow says... In Italy, even gelato, the typical holiday treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since he had to raise prices by $1.50 a cone because of soaring milk and fruit costs. In France, prices for ice cream are just ridicolous - two to three Euro for a cone with one scoop of ice cream. This is the normal price in the UK, and IME in airports all around the world. Yet there are still a queue of people buying. This is presumably for the same disgusting stuff that is sold from vans making their hideous noise all over the country during the long summer evenings -- Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire) To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane |
#9
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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations
"Alfred Molon" kirjoitti s.com... In article , Gregory Morrow says... In Italy, even gelato, the typical holiday treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since he had to raise prices by $1.50 a cone because of soaring milk and fruit costs. In France, prices for ice cream are just ridicolous - two to three Euro for a cone with one scoop of ice cream. -- I guess I recently told in this group that a cup of coffee in average costs seven (7) euros at a Moscovite cafe while it costs four euros in ultra expensive Paris and some two euros in New York. |
#10
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Economic cloud rains on Europeans' vacations
In article , tim..... says...
"Alfred Molon" wrote in message ... In article , Gregory Morrow says... In Italy, even gelato, the typical holiday treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since he had to raise prices by $1.50 a cone because of soaring milk and fruit costs. In France, prices for ice cream are just ridicolous - two to three Euro for a cone with one scoop of ice cream. This is the normal price in the UK, and IME in airports all around the world. I forgot to mention that the quality of the ice cream in France is poor. In most places we visited we saw that the ice cream was refrozen. By contrast, yesterday I had an excellent hazelnuts ice cream in a shopping complex here in Munich for 90 cents. Yet there are still a queue of people buying. Some people really know no better. Maybe it's a market opportunity to set up ice cream stalls in the UK selling good ice cream for 1.50 Euro a scoop. -- Alfred Molon http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe |
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